BAE SYSTEMS Flight Systems

A division of BAE SYSTEMS North America, BAE provides military and commercial aircraft modification, aircraft operations, flight test, STC certification services and aerial subscale and full-scale targets. Subsonic and supersonic test aircraft are available, including some of the only civilian-registered F-4 Phantoms in the world.

BAE Systems North America employs 22,000 people in the design, development, integration, manufacture and support of a wide range of advanced aerospace products and electronic systems for government and commercial customers, and Flight Systems is a major business area within BAE Systems North America. Part of the Company’s Integrated Defense Solutions unit, Flight Systems employs more than 500 employees at its Mojave, Palmdale, and Victorville, California facilities.
www.baesystems.com

Fiberset

Since 1983, Marie Walker, CEO, has developed Fiberset to become a leader in the fabrication of composite products and components. Serving large and small businesses in various industries throughout the free world and providing high-end, highly specialized custom Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) design, development, prototyping, production, modification and repair services. The use of carbon fiber in today’s components is widespread due to the exceptional light weight, strength, stiffness, fatigue and chemical resistance properties of the material. Fiberset is an innovative leader in the design and fabrication of carbon fiber and other FRP components with high-tech finishes. These include aerodynamic composite flight test articles, armor, medical devices, solar and wind energy products, automotive, marine, high profile sports equipment, decorative applications and panels.
www.fiberset.com

Firestar Technologies

Firestar Technologies (formerly Firestar Engineering) is an Aerospace and Energy R&D company that specializes in the development and commercialization of technologies for advanced chemical propulsion and power systems as well as related diagnostic and spaceflight instrumentation. Firestar Technologies NOFBX monopropulsion systems (currently under development) are gaining visibility within the aerospace sector for commercial and NASA applications. Firestar Technologies monopropulsion systems outperform heritage propulsion systems across the board. Specifically, they are non-toxic, higher energy density, generate more thrust for a given mass flow rate in rocket applications, are very stable for storage and handling conditions, and can be operated over extreme hot and cold temperatures.

The researchers at Firestar Technologies like to say that they are working their way down. NOFBX monopropellants were originally invented for far-out, deep space science missions under contract oversight from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech. Now NOFBX monopropellants and the associated hardware are also being developed for applications progressively closer to home for DARPA, NASA JSC, NASA MSFC, NASA KSC, NASA Glenn and several commercial Aerospace companies. Recently, Firestar Technologies has developed prototype systems that operate within the earths atmosphere for high altitude power applications at altitudes greater than 40,000 ft. One day they hope to develop launch systems with many thousands of pounds of thrust which will operate from the Earths surface.

Firestar Technologies list of projects includes development of NOFBXTM monopropulsion systems for a wide arrange of applications from spacecraft thrusters for manned and unmanned applications to high performance power plants, gas excavation technologies, advanced imaging and spectroscopy instruments for gas sensing and surface analysis, as well as energetically deployed inflatable/rigidizable materials.
www.firestar-engineering.com

Flight Research, Inc.

Flight Research, Inc. is an industry leader in the development of innovative flight test solutions. The company was founded in 1981 in Mojave, California, to meet the growing need for private-sector specialists in flight test design and implementation. A sister company to the National Test Pilot School, FRI has a staff of test pilots and flight test engineers, including designated engineering representatives (DERs) who custom tailor test pilot programs to suit the needs of its clients. Services also include Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) certification flight testing, weapons development captive-carry and launch, and aircraft certification. FRI can test products or equipment on their own aircraft which range from small general aviation aircraft to helicopters and supersonic fighters, like the Mach 2 SAAB Draken fighter. FRI also offers chase, pace, photographic and telemetry support.

Whether the project is aircraft or weapons related, from systems certification, to STC certification to aircraft type certification, nobody does flight test better than FRI.
www.flightresearch.com

Flight Test Associates

After a career in flight test spanning 23 years, John Ligon identified the need for more innovative approaches toward flight test research and aerospace development. So in 1996, he created Flight Test Associates, Inc. the full service aerospace company which now has more than 100 employees and operates three hangars at the Mojave site.

FTA conducts business with commercial aviation and general aviation — meaning companies as well as individuals, and friendly foreign governments as well as the Department of Defense. Flight Test Associates also leads the industry in non-OEM FAA certifications, providing complete flight test services, FAA certification services, engineering design, and aircraft modification and maintenance. FTA’s engineers, pilots, and technicians offer extensive experience, with a total of 13 Stage 2 and 3 Hushkit certifications, and a combination of 15 group and non-group RVSM programs to their credit. FTA has DER test pilots, DER flight test engineers, and DER engineers in virtually every discipline, as well mechanics and technicians experienced in working with many types of military and civilian aircraft.
www.flttest.com
Contact Lin Roberts: lroberts@flttest.com

Masten Space Systems

Masten Space Systems is a vertically integrated aerospace R&D and flight services company creating and deploying reliable, reusable rocket vehicles and components. The company builds regeneratively cooled bipropellant propulsion systems and fully reusable vertical takeoff and landing launch vehicles. The company focuses on unmanned suborbital flights.  We fly.
masten-space.com

National Test Pilot School

National Test Pilot School is the largest civilian test pilot school in the world. A not-for-profit educational institute, it was established in 1981 to meet the flight test training needs of the U.S. domestic and foreign aerospace industries and governments. NTPS is the only civilian school among the seven largest test pilot schools in the world. It trains over 300 students annually and has 46 aircraft, from fighter jets to sailplanes, which are kept in four hangars at Mojave Air and Space Port.

The primary objective of the NTPS is to educate and train test pilots and flight test engineers for careers in the military or in the aerospace industry. The school offers 32 unique courses, ranging from one week, academic-only courses, to the 50 week Professional Course. Beyond that, the school develops custom-tailored curricula and courses to meet unique customer needs not addressed by its standard courses.
www.ntps.edu
ntps@ntps.edu

Scaled Composites

Scaled Composites, LLC, is an aerospace and specialty composites development company located in Mojave, California (about 80 miles north of Los Angeles). Founded in 1982 by Burt Rutan, it is perhaps most famous for its historic development, testing and successful back-to-back launches of SpaceshipOne into space on June 21st, September 29th, and October 4th, 2004. It was the first private manned vehicle ever launched into space and won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for its achievements. The vehicle now hangs in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, alongside the Wright Flyer and above the Apollo 11 command module. That popular achievement was grounded in many years of sophisticated aerospace development.

As well as opening the door to private space travel, Scaled Composites also develops everything from microlights to business jets, transports and fighters. The company is also known for its work with unmanned aircraft and associated systems, and has made significant steps in the field of flight simulator development. Scaled Composites maintains a comprehensive data acquisition structure that includes real time air-to-ground telemetry capability. Scaled also has broad experience in air vehicle design, tooling, and manufacturing, specialty composite structure design, analysis and fabrication, and developmental flight test.
www.scaled.com
www.scaled.com/contactus.htm

TSC (The Spaceship Company)

TSC, also known as The Spaceship Company, is a new aerospace production company, founded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, which will be building the world’s first fleet of commercial spaceships and launch aircraft intended to make widespread space travel a reality.

TSC has contracted Scaled Composites to develop and build prototypes of WK2 and SS2 and TSC is now taking these prototypes into commercial production. TSC’s launch customer is Virgin Galactic (http://www.virgingalactic.com) which is on track to become the world’s first private spaceline.

Mojave Air and Space Port, often described as the Silicon Valley for the emerging space industry, is the home for TSC’s WK2 and SS2 assembly and testing operations. TSC is in the process of ramping up its production operations in Mojave with excellent career opportunities across various disciplines available.
www.thespaceshipcompany.com

XCOR Aerospace

XCOR Aerospace, Inc. is in the business of developing and manufacturing safe, reliable and reusable liquid rocket powered vehicles, propulsion systems, advanced non-flammable composites and other enabling technologies such as the first viable rocket piston pump for cryogenic fluids and more traditional fuels. Founded in 1999 by the former propulsion team of another Mojave space company, XCOR has a heritage and a long history of successful development, test and fielding of innovative fully reusable, long life and lower cost liquid rocket engines and vehicles.

XCOR’s accomplishments include the EZ Rocket and X-Racer flight vehicles and multiple generations of liquid fueled rocket engines. EZ Rocket, the world’s first privately financed and flown rocket powered aircraft, is the holder of several official and unofficial long distance point-to-point rocket flight records. EZ Rocket flew 26 times in its demonstration program; enabled the development of critical systems and processes for safe, reusable and affordable rocket powered flight; and served as a regulatory pathfinder. X-Racer was a two seat vehicle that demonstrated key liquid rocket pump technology in manned rocket flight, that will serve as the core of future suborbital and orbital manned and unmanned flight systems. X-Racer also allowed XCOR to develop additional technology and processes for quick turnaround fuel, LOX and helium reloading. X-Racer flew a 40 flight test program, and set an unofficial flight record by flying seven times in one day. The XCOR XR- 5M15 LOX/methane engine was the first LOX/methane engine developed in the US for approximately 30 years.

Currently, XCOR is working with aerospace prime contractors and government customers on primary liquid rocket propulsion systems, and concurrently building the Lynx, a piloted, two-seat, fully reusable, liquid rocket powered suborbital vehicle that takes off and lands horizontally. The Lynx production models (designated Lynx Mark II) are designed to be robust, multi-mission commercial vehicles capable of flying to 100+ km in altitude up to four times per day.
www.xcor.com